15 hours ago

The Love of Reading Is on Life Support – Can We Save It?

One day, while visiting one of our grandchildren, an 8-year-old, I stepped out the back door to locate her. She was perched snuggly up in an oak tree, reading; as if that’s where everyone might choose to spend their afternoon…

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2 days ago

You Don’t Need to Know Everything

It was probably 1947 – a very long time ago in any case. It was my first day in first grade – and my class had ceremoniously paraded from the room for the kindergarten to the first-grade room to mark the moment. We were all asked to sit in a circle…

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2 days ago

Is Inspiration Whiplash Part of Your Vocabulary?

If you’re like most people, you probably made some new year’s resolutions – changes you wanted to see in your life. Research shows it takes around 90 days to forge lasting change, so perhaps by now you’re well on your way to making…

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3 days ago

Discovering My True Life Calling

We’ve all been told that we have a life purpose or calling. How many of us really know what that is? I’ve spent much of my life on my journey of discovery, but it wasn’t until after I retired from my vocation that I finally discovered my calling…

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5 days ago

Walking Back to the Happiness of Sobriety

When I was a young chick (admittedly a long, long time ago), I used to love listening The Who singing “Hope I die before I get old” and used to be in complete agreement with that sentiment. Well, the passing of time changes everything…

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6 days ago

The Dreaded High School Reunion and the 5 Things I Discovered Preparing for Mine

I graduated in 1973 from a small Catholic high school. I was young for my age, ill prepared to be rubbing elbows with girls who drove Jaguars and brand new Camaros to school, had streets named after their fathers and felt little to no use for me…

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6 days ago

Are You Crazy About Puppets?

If theater is about the suspension of disbelief, then puppetry is a double suspension of disbelief – the story is told not by an actor, but by a doll or costume controlled by a puppeteer. Done well, it works in a magical way. The creative skill…

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6 days ago

What Does It Take to Enjoy Cheap Luxuries?

Years ago, I coined the term ‘cheap luxury’ in my household, but I think it is a good time to spread it around. See if you think it has meaning for you. The term first arose, if I am not mistaken, over a jar of mustard. We were in a supermarket…

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7 days ago

Begin a Challenge with the End in Mind

Do you realize that most of us think with the end in mind? Remember when you began and completed a recent project? It could have been reorganizing your kitchen cupboards, finishing a quilt, or cleaning the house…

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1 week ago

The Charms of Living Alone

My friend, Marcia, is a vigorous woman in her early 80s. Thirty years ago, she moved into an apartment on Manhattan’s upper East side. Last year, I visited her place for the first time. There were bars outside her ground floor windows…

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